In the last century, leaving home without a headdress was considered indecent. And, if women in the countryside wore headscarves, then, in the cities, they always wore hats. Sometimes, the most bizarre types.
Hats were brought to Russia from Europe when Peter the Great introduced the fashion for Western style of clothing for the country’s nobility. Russia had its own headdresses - ‘kokoshniks’, ‘povoyniks’, shawls, etc. Peasants, of course, continued to wear traditional costumes, while hats became the headdress for townsfolk.
Hats were needed not only for protection from the elements, but also to demonstrate one’s status. Even today, hats are still part of the uniforms of different professions and one glance at the hat is enough to know that this is a flight attendant or, for example, a jockey. 1.
The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries is called 'La Belle Époque'. Ladies were extraordinarily elegant during this period. Very elegant hats with wide brims and unusual decorations were in fashion.
2. The hats included bouquets, outlandish creations with feathers - and even stuffed animals! All this was fastened and secured with huge pins. These were sharp rods up to 20-25 cm in length.
Already in 1912, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, ladies wearing such hats were forbidden to use public transportation to avoid injury. 3.
The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution changed not only the political and economic regime in Russia, but also fashion. Everything had to be ne.
